As I write this, here are the temperatures in the cities of the National League Central…

St. Louis: 6
Cincinnati: 5
Pittsburgh: 0
Chicago: -2
Milwaukee: -7

In Celsius, by the way, those figures are -14, -15, -18, -19, and -22. This, once again, is why we should use Celsius in winter, although Fahrenheit figures do become more severe than Celsius when the temperature is less than -40, a temperature at which maybe it’s time to consider moving someplace suitable for human life.

Anyway, congratulations to St. Louis on yet another victory. There is no album for this look around the division, only one song, on repeat, while getting across thoughts on the 2014 National League Central. That song: “Cold As Ice” by Foreigner.

“You’re as cold as ice, you’re willing to sacrifice our love…” Well, Ryan Braun is going to be back in the Brewers’ lineup after playing only 61 games in 2013 due to a thumb injury and a 65-game suspension for a mix of Biogenesis involvement, having gotten an earlier suspension turned over on a technicality, and the fact that there were 65 games left in the season at the time of the new punishment.

After Braun was suspended, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s editorial board called for the Brewers to cut him, asking, “Should Milwaukee fans now be expected to pay $25, $50, $100 or more to see this charlatan perform?” When that charlatan performed last year at Miller Park, the Brewers were 20-16, with Braun posting a .926 OPS. In the games Braun did not play, Milwaukee’s home record was 17-28. Know who likes seeing stars play well and the home team win? Fans.

Ryan Braun (AP Photo)

Ah, fans. So much is made of them in this division, thanks to the Cardinals having the best ones in baseball, although not according to Forbes, which measures quality of fandom by willingness to spend exorbitant amounts of money for tickets — way more than $25, $50, $100 or more. Also, Forbes seems to be under the impression that Sporting News is based in St. Louis, which hasn’t been true the entire time I’ve worked here.

If the Cardinals don’t have the fans in baseball who are most willing to “pay the price, I know, I’ve seen it before,” what do they have? Oh, right, they have pretty much the same ludicrous team that they did last year, and maybe even better. Jon Jay, who was sixth among Cardinals position players in WAR last season, may now be the fourth outfielder after the trade of David Freese to the Angels for Peter Bourjos. Joe Kelly, who had a 2.69 ERA in 124 innings last year, may not have a rotation spot.

The thing about the Cardinals, just like last year, is that they don’t dazzle you. Sure, Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina are legitimate All-Stars, Adam Wainwright is an established ace, and young pitchers like Michael Wacha and Shelby Miller offer both talent and upside… but the real threat of St. Louis is that there is no weakness to be exploited. Carlos Beltran goes to the Yankees? Okay, Allen Craig can play right field and Matt Adams can stay at first base with a bat that needs to be in the lineup anyway. One Cardinals regular had an OPS+ below the constant league average of 100 in 2013, and Pete Kozma has been supplanted by free agent signee Jhonny Peralta.

The team best equipped to compete with the Cardinals remains last year’s second-place finishers, the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had two regulars with a sub-100 OPS+ last year in Clint Barmes and Travis Snider. Guess which two players are projected to cede playing time this year to the younger and more talented Jordy Mercer and Jose Tabata? The oldest everyday player in the Pittsburgh lineup is catcher Russell Martin, who turns 31 next month.

Andrew McCutchen (AP Photo)

The Pirates have the reigning MVP in Andrew McCutchen, a slugger with room to grow in Pedro Alvarez, a star-in-the-making in Starling Marte, and a pitching staff led by the rejuvenated Francisco Liriano and a full season of Gerrit Cole. Pittsburgh has every reason to believe that last year was not a fluke, but instead the payoff of a well-executed plan after years of suffering.

The Chicago Cubs have the years of suffering thing down pat, and now are working on the well-executed plan part. “You’re digging for gold.” Well, yes, and there is gold in the Cubs’ farm system. Chicago can be legitimately excited about what the future holds with Arismendy Alcantara, Albert Almora, Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, C.J. Edwards, Pierce Johnson, and Jorge Soler, among others. Not all of the prospects will pan out, but when you have that many good ones, you’re set up well for some measure of success, and that’s what the Cubs are banking on — just not in 2014, although the current roster isn’t embarrassingly bad. The outfield of Junior Lake, Justin Ruggiano, and Nate Schierholtz should be particularly fun to watch — all three are from the same kind of dynamic mold, but with varying levels of issues with consistency.

You think about the Cubs, while listening to the same song on repeat, over and over and over again, and you realize that at some point, just saying “1908” doesn’t really tell the whole story anymore, just as "Cold as Ice" would have a little more artistic heft if it weren't so darn repetitive. Yes, the Cubs' last world title came 106 years ago, and you know that’s a long time, but you have to remind yourself of just how long — like, my oldest nephew is older now than my great-grandmother was the last time the Cubs won the World Series. We’re still a solid 26 years away from the Cubs’ championship being the midpoint between the Declaration of Independence and the present day, but if you got in a time machine that was set to go back 106 years at a jump, your first stop would be the Cubs winning the World Series, and the next stop would be before the Louisiana Purchase.

Why is any of this important? Because while the Cubs are building for the future, the future has been building for the Cubs since 1989, when Back to the Future II was released (and first baseman Anthony Rizzo was born).

Next year is 2015, so there’s not much time left for baseball to rejigger the playoff system to make a Cubs-Miami World Series a possibility. But you never know.

One thing I do know is that the Cincinnati Reds are the team that looks like the biggest disappointment of the division, “throwing away a fortune in feelings, but someday you’ll pay.” The Reds don’t need to re-sign Bronson Arroyo, because Johnny Cueto is healthy again, and Tony Cingrani proved last year that he’s up to the task of starting in a major league rotation. Along with Homer Bailey, Mat Latos, and Mike Leake, the Reds have a strong starting five, all of whom had lower ERAs last season than Arroyo, who is the only member of the group over 30. You understand why he’s allowed to go much more than standing by while Shin-Soo Choo, Cincinnati’s second-best hitter last season, heads to Texas.

If the Reds want to try Billy Hamilton and his amazing speed in center field, that’s fine, but he’s not going to hit like Choo, and neither is Skip Schumaker. Cincinnati needed another impact bat this winter to replace Choo’s contributions, and that bat has not come at any position — at this point, a trade is the only way it's going to happen. In a division as rugged as the Central and a league with strong teams in other divisions, that kind of slip can be the difference between making the playoffs and not. “I’ve seen it before, it happens all the time, you’re closing the door, you leave the world behind.”